Tad Williams' Message Board

Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies -- 'God damn it, you've got to be kind.'

- Kurt Vonnegut, 1922-2007

Welcome to the message board for tadwilliams.com. All comments are welcome, whether kudos or brickbats. However, please bear in mind that Tad would like this to be a friendly, civil message board, at least in the relations between users. We reserve the right to remove postings, or even ban postings, from anyone who crosses the boundary of reasonable taste. Basically, you can argue vigorously with someone, but watch your language, okay? We have a lot of young readers as well as grown-ups, so please show them some respect.

Re: The Hobbit

3D? Can we then expect scenes where characters poke swords and such at the viewers as a cheap 3D gimmick? I hope not!

Scrollbearer, Keeper of the Firsfronicon, Message Board Poet Lariat and Guardian of the Wild Range.Co-titan of fact-checking and priceless source of Osten-Ard-ianaNow-official Osten Ard consultant for Tad Williams

Ommu is horrifying; Akhenabi is f**king evil; Makho is Trump with a badass sword; Jijibo is the crackhead version of Towser. And Saomeji is creepy. --Cyan

Re: The Hobbit

I have to say I'm reasonably excited about the propect of hobbits propping their smelly, hairy feet up on a barrel, and their dirty soles will be sticking our RIGHT AT YOU! Also, pipeweed smoke ... in 3-D!

(Actually, that last one could be potentially cool.)

“The past,” they say, “is now truly like a foreign country. They do things exactly the same there.” --- Douglas Adams

Re: The Hobbit

Unfortunately, my vision is such that I can't do 3D so count me as one of the unimpressed and completely indifferent. I hope this is not a case of jumping on the bandwagon 'cause there's a bandwagon to jump on.

Oh, well...

"The evil done by men of goodwill is the worst of all." Iain Pears, The Dream of Scipio

"Where all think alike, no one thinks very much." Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)

Re: The Hobbit

Right now, 3D is money. Avatar, for example, pulled in a large share of its viewers from 3D showings. How about that Alice in Wonderland movie? It might seem a minor film, but did you know it grossed $690 Million worldwide, making it the fifth largest overseas total ever? (First being, of course, Avatar.) 3D viewings played a large role in that total, too. I guarantee this push toward 3D is with an eye toward profit, especially with MGM Studios in dire straights.

“The past,” they say, “is now truly like a foreign country. They do things exactly the same there.” --- Douglas Adams

Re: The Hobbit

Rook wrote:

I have to say I'm reasonably excited about the propect of hobbits propping their smelly, hairy feet up on a barrel, and their dirty soles will be sticking our RIGHT AT YOU! Also, pipeweed smoke ... in 3-D!

(Actually, that last one could be potentially cool.)

See, I thought they were saving those effects for Smell-o-vision. ;)

Scrollbearer, Keeper of the Firsfronicon, Message Board Poet Lariat and Guardian of the Wild Range.Co-titan of fact-checking and priceless source of Osten-Ard-ianaNow-official Osten Ard consultant for Tad Williams

Ommu is horrifying; Akhenabi is f**king evil; Makho is Trump with a badass sword; Jijibo is the crackhead version of Towser. And Saomeji is creepy. --Cyan

Re: The Hobbit

Bilbo: Gandalf, whatever shall I do with all these dwarves? Thorin, Oin, Gloin... the rest... Hang on a moment... this fly keeps buzzing around. I better swat at it with this broom!

Gandalf: You'll never catch it that way, Bilbo. Let me try encircling it in some smoke rings. I'll blow them right at the camer... um... this blank, fourth wall.

Last edited by Firsfron of Ronchester (2010-10-05 17:40:16)

Scrollbearer, Keeper of the Firsfronicon, Message Board Poet Lariat and Guardian of the Wild Range.Co-titan of fact-checking and priceless source of Osten-Ard-ianaNow-official Osten Ard consultant for Tad Williams

Ommu is horrifying; Akhenabi is f**king evil; Makho is Trump with a badass sword; Jijibo is the crackhead version of Towser. And Saomeji is creepy. --Cyan

Re: The Hobbit

Breaking: 'The Hobbit' Gets Its Greenlight!Sharon Waxman · October 15, 2010 "The Hobbit" has been greenlit and will start production in February, an individual close to the production has told TheWrap.

As TheWrap reported previously, Peter Jackson has agreed to direct the film in addition to producing and writing the two-part project.

In the agreement completed this week, Jackson's deal was finalized and MGM and Warner Brothers agreed to give the project its long-awaited greenlight.

The greenlight means that millions of global fans for the revered J.R.R. Tolkien property can look forward to a prequel to "The Lord of the Rings," which was one of the most successful movie franchises in movie history.

Jackson was already on board to write and produce "The Hobbit." But because of financial turmoil at MGM, which owns half of the franchise together with Warners' New Line Cinema, the project became one of the most torturous in Hollywood history.

Sets have already been built in New Zealand, and actors - including Sir Ian McKellan - have been on hold for months.

Martin Freeman has been rumored to play Bilbo Baggins.

With the logjam finally broken, production will begin in February.

Read More: 'Dr. Who' Says He's in Talks for 'Hobbit' >>

However, the individual said that labor issues related to the production have still not been resolved, and negotiations will continue with the Screen Actors Guild. The union flap involves whether the production would use Screen Actors Guild members or not.

About $30 million has already been spent on the project, the first part of which is scheduled to hit theaters Dec. 19, 2012.

But Warner Brothers was wary about moving ahead at the risk that an agreement with MGM may not hold up over time.

At MGM, the decision about greenlighting "The Hobbit," a $400 million, back-to-back production of two films, has been hanging between CEO Stephen Cooper, owners-in-waiting Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum of Spyglass Productions and the creditors committee at MGM.

Spyglass has signed a letter of intent to give the production company 4-5 percent ownership of MGM in exchange for taking over the company's management. That deal would entail a prepackaged bankruptcy, under the supervision of the judge and with the accord of the studio's debtors and investors.

But just this week, takeover king Carl Icahn threw his weight behind an alternate plan, to have Lionsgate merge with MGM instead. Icahn owns 30% of Lionsgate, and about 10% of MGM's debt.

So that outcome remains in flux, with a vote pending by MGM debtholder on October 22.

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firsfron i've seen a couple 3d movies with the kids this summer and it wasnt as bad as i had feared, and they were movies you'd figure would've been targest for that kinda shtick....how to train your dragon and toy story 3

Re: The Hobbit

Neemo wrote:

firsfron i've seen a couple 3d movies with the kids this summer and it wasnt as bad as i had feared, and they were movies you'd figure would've been targest for that kinda shtick....how to train your dragon and toy story 3

Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

I draw the line, however, at any cameo appearances by boybands.

Scrollbearer, Keeper of the Firsfronicon, Message Board Poet Lariat and Guardian of the Wild Range.Co-titan of fact-checking and priceless source of Osten-Ard-ianaNow-official Osten Ard consultant for Tad Williams

Ommu is horrifying; Akhenabi is f**king evil; Makho is Trump with a badass sword; Jijibo is the crackhead version of Towser. And Saomeji is creepy. --Cyan

Re: The Hobbit

But he did at least keep count of his orc kills in the book.

Scrollbearer, Keeper of the Firsfronicon, Message Board Poet Lariat and Guardian of the Wild Range.Co-titan of fact-checking and priceless source of Osten-Ard-ianaNow-official Osten Ard consultant for Tad Williams

Ommu is horrifying; Akhenabi is f**king evil; Makho is Trump with a badass sword; Jijibo is the crackhead version of Towser. And Saomeji is creepy. --Cyan

Re: The Hobbit

OK, first question: does this mean that if they relaunch Flight of the Conchords, we're gonna have even more hilariously depression posters behind Murray's desk? ("New Zealand: The Original Middle Earth!")

Secondly: where would Peter Jackson go? My vote is for the Pacific Northwest. We and NZ are not to dissimilar with regards to geography.

“The past,” they say, “is now truly like a foreign country. They do things exactly the same there.” --- Douglas Adams

Re: The Hobbit

Rook wrote:

Secondly: where would Peter Jackson go? My vote is for the Pacific Northwest. We and NZ are not to dissimilar with regards to geography.

True. And you could paint the Sasquatches green and use them for Ents. They wouldn't hold up to close scrutiny, so you'd just have to keep them in the background.

Last edited by Firsfron of Ronchester (2010-10-22 19:29:49)

Scrollbearer, Keeper of the Firsfronicon, Message Board Poet Lariat and Guardian of the Wild Range.Co-titan of fact-checking and priceless source of Osten-Ard-ianaNow-official Osten Ard consultant for Tad Williams

Ommu is horrifying; Akhenabi is f**king evil; Makho is Trump with a badass sword; Jijibo is the crackhead version of Towser. And Saomeji is creepy. --Cyan

Re: The Hobbit

Martin FreemanBritish actor Martin Freeman will star as Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's two-part adaptation of The Hobbit, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Hobbit finally gets the green-light

Freeman, who starred on the U.K. version of The Office, is "exactly like Bilbo and I feel incredibly proud to be able to announce that he is our Hobbit," Jackson said in a statement.

Joining Freeman in the project are Richard Armitage, Aidan Turner, Rob Kazinsky, Graham McTavish, John Callen, Stephen Hunter, Mark Hadlow and Peter Hambleton — all of whom will play roles as part of the Company of Dwarves. Armitage, who stars on the U.K. series MI-5 and will appear in Captain America: The First Avenger, will play Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the Company of Dwarves.

Lord of the Rings stars Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis are expected to return as Gandalf and Gollum, respectively.

Re: The Hobbit

Morgan Freeman?! What the...?! I call miscast!

Oh. Martin Freeman. Well, that's acceptable, I guess.

Scrollbearer, Keeper of the Firsfronicon, Message Board Poet Lariat and Guardian of the Wild Range.Co-titan of fact-checking and priceless source of Osten-Ard-ianaNow-official Osten Ard consultant for Tad Williams

Ommu is horrifying; Akhenabi is f**king evil; Makho is Trump with a badass sword; Jijibo is the crackhead version of Towser. And Saomeji is creepy. --Cyan

Re: The Hobbit

Why not have Canada as Middle-Earth? The rest of my country, outside of the urban centres, is composed of mountains, prairies, forests, frozen tundra, rivers, etc. Any type of environment needed for "The Hobbit" we got it!

Re: The Hobbit

PeterJW wrote:

Why not have Canada as Middle-Earth? The rest of my country, outside of the urban centres, is composed of mountains, prairies, forests, frozen tundra, rivers, etc. Any type of environment needed for "The Hobbit" we got it!

But Canada has no fire-breathing dragons!

Scrollbearer, Keeper of the Firsfronicon, Message Board Poet Lariat and Guardian of the Wild Range.Co-titan of fact-checking and priceless source of Osten-Ard-ianaNow-official Osten Ard consultant for Tad Williams

Ommu is horrifying; Akhenabi is f**king evil; Makho is Trump with a badass sword; Jijibo is the crackhead version of Towser. And Saomeji is creepy. --Cyan

Re: The Hobbit

We could CGI the fire-breathing dragons. Otherwise, we could also look for their potential Canadian hiding spots. Possible locations include the North-West Territories, Newfoundland-Labrador, Banff, Alberta, or Whistler, British Columbia. You might also want to check out Churchill, Manitoba, Humboldt, Saskatchewan and Lake Mistassini in Quebec.

Re: The Hobbit

Firsfron of Ronchester wrote:

PeterJW wrote:

Why not have Canada as Middle-Earth? The rest of my country, outside of the urban centres, is composed of mountains, prairies, forests, frozen tundra, rivers, etc. Any type of environment needed for "The Hobbit" we got it!

But Canada has no fire-breathing dragons!

Which is why Seattle is a more natural fit. Bruce "The Dragon" Lee? Buried here!

“The past,” they say, “is now truly like a foreign country. They do things exactly the same there.” --- Douglas Adams

Re: The Hobbit

PeterJW wrote:

We could CGI the fire-breathing dragons. Otherwise, we could also look for their potential Canadian hiding spots. Possible locations include the North-West Territories, Newfoundland-Labrador, Banff, Alberta, or Whistler, British Columbia. You might also want to check out Churchill, Manitoba, Humboldt, Saskatchewan and Lake Mistassini in Quebec.

And the next thing you'll be telling me is there are dragons in downtown Toronto, too. I don't buy that for a mo... oh, wait a minute. According to Google, there are!

Scrollbearer, Keeper of the Firsfronicon, Message Board Poet Lariat and Guardian of the Wild Range.Co-titan of fact-checking and priceless source of Osten-Ard-ianaNow-official Osten Ard consultant for Tad Williams

Ommu is horrifying; Akhenabi is f**king evil; Makho is Trump with a badass sword; Jijibo is the crackhead version of Towser. And Saomeji is creepy. --Cyan

Re: The Hobbit

Interesting Firsfron, I did not think the dragons would be in Toronto also. In light of this new reality, they could also be hiding beneath the cobble stoned streets of Old Montreal or under the Old Fort on Ile Ste-Helene. Also look for them below the streets of Quebec City and Fortress Louisburg in Nova Scotia. Finally another potential hiding spot is in Hamilton, Ontario on the basis of the new information provided by Neemo.